O Ye Tender Babes

English Virginal Music played upon the harpsichord, Flemish virginals, and “mother-and-child” muselaar. (WLBR 9507)

“There is, in music for the virginals, a beautiful balance between soldity and fantasy— on the one hand, an unshakable pulse, a bedrock of structural rhythm, a logic of basic conceit, a belief in the orderliness of the universe, and on the other hand, musings, mischievousness, prankishness and invention: the quiet genius of the English people.” —from the notes by Frances Conover Fitch.

Three very different keyboard instruments are employed for this unusual project: a copy of the 1640 harpsichord by Iohannes Ruckers, in petite ravalement (keyboards aligned, original 4 sets of jacks) built by Ronald Haas; a reconstruction of the virginals by Joest Karest, Antwerp (16th century) by Curtis Berak; and a “mother and child” muselaar by the late Robert Greenberg. Three very rare instruments for a body of rare and exciting music. Color photos reveal their individuality, but no more so than the recording, which conveys a wealth of timbral detail and compelling performance, combined for a thrilling and unusual musical experience.